ROME: 27 March 2013-- Holy Week is well under
way, with the
Maundy Thursday Mass and agape but a few hours away. it seems
an
appropriate moment to take a leaf out of the New Zealand
Liturgy
Commission Journal (which in turn took man leafs out of
Salesian
sources in Rome and Colle Don Bosco!) and wish everyone a
fruitful
journey through the Way of the Cross to the Way of Light. That
is the
only way we can make sense of out many of life's events - and
it is
Jesus' Way.
For
those who are only seeing this 1st panel of the Colle Don
Bosco 'Via
Lucis' (see above as an insert on the front cover of the
magazine) for
the first time, the artist, Giovanni Dragoni, puts his
explanation this
way:
At the centre is Jesus, his gaze looking upwards. He is
presented as
conquering death; in his right hand he holds a standard,
symbol of
victory. The left arm is lightly bent, but the open hand gives
a
spatial dimension, a solemn one at that, which is a testimony
to his
real presence.
There is a radiance emanting from Jesus; the energy that he
has
released through his resurrection, and it also indicates the
space of
the entire panel.
Jesus' face is seren, luminous, radiating light and hope.
At the centre (either side of Jesus) there are two lines -
grooves,
really - that xtend upwards and outwards from the empty tomb;
those too
generates a sense of open space from which the Risen Lord
emerges.
Two figures either side in the upper part of the panel are
touched by
wrapped up by the energy emanating from Jesus - they symbolise
the slow
but sure release from the sleep of death, to take part in the
Great
Resurrection.
In the lower part of the panel there are two completely
different
figures. On one side the angel seated on the stone that
blocked the
tomb. The angel's hnds too, are facing upwards. On the other
side is
the soldier, symbolising those who had to guard the tomb, keep
people
away; but he has been pushed back by a much stronger force
than a
lance, the power of the Risen Lord. Weapons are powerless in
the great
plan of Redemption.
